Forgive AND Forget

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is an Apostle for my Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love his talks and writings. He reminds me very much of a Baptist preacher. I read a magazine article, this morning, taken from a speech he gave at Brigham Young University, that touched my heart. I will share pieces of the article with you, and the link to the entire article is at the end of my post.

He begins speaking about Lot's wife, who infamously "looked back," against the Lord's instruction, and became a pillar of salt. What did she do that was wrong? Elder Holland says, "Apparently, what was wrong with Lot's wife was that she wasn't just looking back; in her heart she wanted to go back. It would appear that even before she was past the city limits she was already missing what Sodom and Gomorrah had offered her. So it isn't just that she looked back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That, apparently, was at least part of her sin."

I am a live-in caregiver for a 92-year-old woman who lost the use of her right arm, in 2010, after a car accident, which wasn't her fault. Up to that time, she was very independent. Even after nearly seven years, she continues to look back, every day, with much longing, wishing that she was able to be independent again. This truly saddens me. There is no way to get her old life back. She also has dementia, so she is no longer able to reason or comprehend. She spends her days longing for her past life, unable to look forward to the future or think about how she can use her situation to help herself and those around her learn and grow.

The article then moves on to forgiving and forgetting. He says, "There is something in many of us that particularly fails to forgive and forget earlier mistakes in life-either our mistakes or the mistakes of others. It is not good. It is not Christian. It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ. To be tied to earlier mistakes is the worst kind of wallowing in the past from which we are called to cease and desist. When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open some ancient wound that the Son of God Himself died to heal."

Elder Holland goes on to say, "Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is that charity? Yes! Above all, it is charity, the pure love of Christ. If something is buried in the past, leave it buried. Don't keep going back with your little sand pail and beach shovel to dig it up, wave it around, and then throw it at someone, saying, 'Hey! Do you remember this?' Splat!"

I have always thought of myself as a forgiving person. This article caused me to stop and think about whether I am a forgetting person. Today is my older brother's birthday. Growing up, I felt he was inconsiderate and unkind to me. I didn't feel we had a good relationship. After we were all grown up, I forgave him. However, I am not sure, now, that I have forgotten how he treated me, years and years ago. My pledge, in this new year, is to forget the mistakes of others. I am sure there are people in my life I have wronged, either intentionally or unintentionally. If you are one of those persons, please forgive me. My prayer is that you will eventually come to a place that will help you to forget the mistakes you and others have made.

Here is the link:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/01/the-best-is-yet-to-be?lang=eng

Blessings,
Teah

The Hand of the Lord

This morning, I read the 9th chapter of Isaiah. The phrase, "but his hand is stretched out still," appears three times in this chapter, related to how God's people often rebel and turn away from him, "but his hand is stretched out still." So, even when we want nothing to do with God, he is patient and continually extending a helping hand. He is readily available, whenever we seek his help, whether we have been daily following his teachings or have fallen away and are desperate for guidance.

My daily devotional app sometimes gives me an assignment. Today, it suggested that I write in my journal about the times I observed the hand of the Lord in my life. There are many such occurrences in my life, but I have chosen to relate a chain of events that occurred in the early 1990s, that, to me, clearly showed the hand of the Lord was there.

At the time, I was divorced, my son was in elementary school and living with me, I was working full time, and I had just taken in a foster child, a boy who was two years younger than my son. I was renting a small three-bedroom house. The Division of Family Services was starting a career foster parenting program, and my social worker was strongly encouraging me to get on board as one of the charter participants. This new program required the participants to foster two teenagers, and participants were not allowed to work outside the home. The stipend was substantial, actually more than my current income, and it was tax-free. In order for me to become a part of the program, I needed to attend additional training. I also needed a bigger house, to accommodate five people.

My foster child was diagnosed with ADHD, but he did not qualify for medication, because he did not act out at school. I had a small TV/VCR combo in the boys' room, which proved helpful for my foster boy. The boys and I usually went out every Wednesday night. One Wednesday night, when we got home, the house had been burglarized. The burglars took two VCRs, a TV, and my violin. Interestingly, they only checked my room and the living room, so they did not take the TV from the boys' room, nor did they take my viola, which was in the spare room. None of the items were recovered, and the burglars were not found and prosecuted, although the police believed it was youth in the neighborhood who needed money for drugs. I had renter's insurance, so the TV and VCRs were replaced with newer models.

My mother had purchased my violin for $1500, before I went to college. She wanted me to have the best instrument she could afford. I went to college on a music scholarship. My major was music performance-violin. As part of my major, I was required to study a second instrument. I took on the viola and found that I enjoyed the viola more than the violin. After two years of college, I changed my major to Music Theory and Composition, and switched my instrument to viola. I kept my violin, because I continued to play it at church, weddings, and other events that preferred the violin to the viola. Sometimes, I even traded between them, at the same event.

My insurance agent asked that I have the violin appraised, if possible, so the amount of my claim could be determined. I still had the sales receipt with the pertinent information about the instrument (when it was built and who built it in what country), so I reached out to the man from whom my mother had purchased the violin. He remembered the violin and appraised it at $10,000. The insurance company agreed to replace the violin with a violin or viola, up to a value of $10,000, or give me $7,500 cash. I had found a 6-bedroom house to buy, and the $7,500 cash was just what I needed for the down payment.

I believe Heavenly Father can see my entire life, at once. He knows when bad things are going to happen, and he knows when I will turn away from him. He sees all the choices I will make, throughout my life. He knew that the violin my mother bought for $1500 would be stolen and appraised at $10,000, at a time when I needed the money. The burglary was a bad thing that set the stage for a good thing to happen. Heavenly Father knew it would happen, just the way it did. However, I did not. This was a great opportunity for me to observe the hand of the Lord working in my life. He knew that I could realize a dream, by looking for the rainbow after the rain. If my violin had not been stolen, I would have had a more difficult time coming up with money for a down payment on the house I wanted.

I encourage you to look more closely at the bad things in your life, and see if you can see the hand of the Lord in them. Look for signs that a good thing will come from this. Dwelling on the positive will help you to bear up under the negative. That's how my life has gone and continues to go.

Until next time, God bless, and remember that "his hand is stretched out still"!

Teah

Seeking Sacrifice

Throughout the month of January 2016, I have been keenly in tune to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, to learn what my Heavenly Father would have me do. I have not had the perfect plan fall into my lap. I have received an idea and pursued it, only to see it disintegrate or morph into something else. I know that writing my book is to be my number one priority. It is called, "Channeling George Bailey: How to Have a Wonderful Life." The world needs this book. It will show everyone how to have a richly blessed life, while helping to richly bless the lives of everyone around them. Sacrifice is necessary to achieve this wonderful life, and I believe sacrifice is also the one thing that keeps folks from embracing this way of life.

Ironically, sacrifice is the one thing that I need, right now, to help me get this book written, published, and out there in the world, where it can be of the most benefit. I don't mean that I need to make a sacrifice. I mean that someone out there, perhaps you, needs to make a sacrifice for my benefit. To give you some background, my initial plan, which has not panned out, was to get a part-time job in the Maplewood/St. Louis Hills/Brentwood area of St. Louis South City, find a place to live in the same area, and devote most of my spare time to writing. The location puts me close to my son and daughter-in-law, so that I can spend more time with them.

The second, amended plan, was to connect with someone I already knew, in a different location, but still in the St. Louis metropolitan area; I would find a part-time job in the area and help these folks that I knew, by paying to rent a room from them. While this plan has not completely faded away, I have not gotten confirmation that it would be the best option. In each of these two plans, I'm the person making the sacrifice.

This morning, I felt very strongly that it's time for someone to make a sacrifice for my benefit. I need someone to take me in, at least temporarily. Some of the ways this could work are:

• A live-in caregiver position for an elderly woman or couple, that would provide free room and board, plus a small stipend, to allow me some "walk-around" money. I have no debts and could get by on as little as $100 per week, as long as room and board was provided.
• A live-in nanny position, same circumstances as the caregiver position.
• A single woman who is financially stable and lives alone, who would benefit from the companionship of another female.
• Anyone who prays over this and feels prompted to provide for me in some way.

I could provide more background, tell you more about myself, explain why I'm needing you to make a sacrifice, but I don't think any further information I provide will be helpful. If, after reading this far, you have a negative opinion of me and wouldn't dream of helping me, that's fine. I know that I'm not going to change your mind. If, however, you have read this far and feel a tugging in your heart or a yearning to do something, please post a comment here, message me on Facebook, or contact me via phone or email, if you have my contact information.

Thanks for your support,

Blessings and love,

Teah

Thanksgiving 2015 Thoughts

I am alone, this Thanksgiving Day. It is not the first Thanksgiving Day I have spent alone, but it is the first Thanksgiving Day I am content to be alone, to enjoy the opportunity for quiet contemplation, to do whatever I want to do, without having to consider what others would want to do, and to pray to my Heavenly Father as he would most like me to pray, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:5)

Today, I am not envious of those who are surrounded by loved ones. Today, I am not weeping and crying, in a deep depression, because I feel so completely alone. Today, I am happy, grateful, and feeling truly blessed. In the days leading up to today, similar to previous years, friends have asked me if I "have somewhere to go" for Thanksgiving or "someone to be with." As in previous years, I have said no, and, when asked to join the person inquiring, I have respectfully declined. What's different this year is that I don't feel the need to provide a reason for my answer.

Having experienced varying scenarios of Thanksgiving, over the years, I'd like to share some advice for those who are considering sharing their Thanksgiving celebration with someone outside their family:

Extend the invitation early, and intentionally.

When I receive an invitation from someone at church, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, it tends to come across as an afterthought. I'm much more inclined to accept an invitation, if it comes in the mail, if it comes from everyone in the family, or if I get a phone call (preferably right after Halloween) the sole purpose of which is the invitation.

Always accept the first response, but make it clear the invitation is longstanding.

Being asked to spend Thanksgiving with anyone I don't know very well usually gets me feeling a bit awkward; I start thinking, "Why are they asking me?" and I initially don't want to accept. However, if those extending the invitation display a genuine interest in wanting me involved in their gathering, and give me time to think about it, my awkwardness subsides, and I'm relieved that I can make a thoughtful decision. An open invitation also helps me to not feel awkward or embarrassed, if something suddenly comes together with my own family (none of whom are nearby).

LISTEN and be SENSITIVE!

I think this is the most important point about including a single person, particularly if the person you're inviting is older than you. One year, a young mother asked what I was doing for Thanksgiving. I said I was fixing turkey and dressing, and looking for someone to share it with. She then asked if I would like to come to her house for Thanksgiving. I asked if I could bring my turkey. Her response was that the company her husband works for gives them a free turkey every year, so, no, I don't need to bring anything. She added that another family was going to be there. I almost couldn't say no fast enough. If you're not understanding why this invitation was off-putting for me, here's how I interpreted what she said:

• She called me up a few days before Thanksgiving, so it seemed like an afterthought. It also seemed like she was thinking that no one should spend Thanksgiving alone, and maybe she felt sorry for me, because I was going to be alone.
• She had obviously invited another family long before she thought of me, another indication that I might have been an afterthought or pity invitation.
• This woman was aware that I love to cook for others, before she invited me. Even though I offered to bring something, she insisted that I not bring anything. This was hugely insulting to me. She had not yet prepared her free turkey and could have easily frozen it for use later, or given it to a needy family. What this said to me is that she is not willing to give something up to make someone else happy; that is not someone with whom I'm interested in spending time.

Now, I have no idea what this woman was thinking, nor will I ever know her intentions. She's a good Christian woman who cares for those who are less fortunate, but, like many, many others, she hasn't had the experience of being alone on Thanksgiving, so she doesn't know what it feels like. She can only relate to my experience through her imagination. The point of this post is to help those of you who have never lived alone, or have forgotten what it's like, to understand the perspective of a person currently living alone.

Consider taking the celebration somewhere else.

The way I see it, if you want to improve the welfare of another person, it's important to put the other person's welfare before your own. Perhaps you're thinking of inviting a single person, or an older couple to your Thanksgiving feast. Do your homework, first. Nearly every single person I know has trouble "getting out." When we're invited somewhere, unless it's all about us, it's so easy to send a text a few hours before the event, indicating we don't feel well enough to go, or something else has come up. Single folks have been doing this to me, for years. If you sense any hesitancy in a yes response, ask if it would be okay if you brought Thanksgiving to the person's home. Also, every nursing home has at least one resident who has no family, and every nursing home serves a Thanksgiving meal. Think about spending Thanksgiving at a nursing home, ordering enough meals for your family, and arranging to sit with a resident who would otherwise be watching other residents celebrating with their families.

I leave you with the following quote:

Thomas S. Monson

We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.

Quote found in A Future as Bright as Your Faith

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Teah

Celebrating Easter and General Conference 2015

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds "General Conference" twice a year, the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October. Actually, General Conference officially begins the last Saturday of March and September, with the General Women's Session. Then, the first Saturday of April and October, there are three sessions of conference, and two sessions on the first Sunday of each month. Each session is two hours. Aside from about 15 minutes spent on auditing and statistical reports, and about 5 minutes spent sustaining Church officers, done during the second Saturday session, each session is filled with words and music to help those watching and listening grow in faith and knowledge of the Gospel, while learning how to cope in the growing chaos prevalent in the world today. 

When I joined the Church in 2002, I had DISH Network and watched conference on BYU-TV. Those who didn't have access to BYU-TV had to go to a meetinghouse to watch the satellite broadcast. (Many meetinghouses have a satellite dish specifically for the purpose of receiving the general conference broadcast.) Today, it's streaming online, at lds.org, you can still watch it on BYU-TV, which is also available as a streaming app on Roku, and you can always go to a meetinghouse to watch. I usually watch it at home. I get comfortable in my big recliner, with my General Conference journal in hand, and absorb all the wonderful talks. I have the capability of pausing and rewinding, to make sure I write down exactly what is said, so that I can go back and review later, make notes, and bask in the truthfulness of the spirit-filled talks that pour from my TV.

Like most Church members, I have my favorite conference speakers. My first favorite was Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Over the years, there were other speakers I began to look forward to hearing: President Gordon B. Hinckley; President Thomas S. Monson; Elder Richard G. Scott; President Dieter F. Uchtdorf; and Sister Barbara Thompson.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He became my favorite speaker, in April 2009, when he gave this talk on the Atonement. In 2009, the first Sunday of April was Palm Sunday.

If you don't want to listen to the entire talk, I've pasted here the three paragraphs that touched me to the core:

"Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; emphasis added.)

"The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, 'Behold, the hour … is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me' and 'The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him'? (John 16:32; 8:29.)

"With all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone."

Then, in October 2009, Elder Holland's talk consisted nearly exclusively of his testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon, expressing why I believe, better than I have been able to.

Again, if you don't want to listen to the talk, read the paragraphs that touched my spirit so deeply that it took my breath away:

"May I refer to a modern “last days” testimony? When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum started for Carthage to face what they knew would be an imminent martyrdom, Hyrum read these words to comfort the heart of his brother:

'Thou hast been faithful; wherefore … thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

“'And now I, Moroni, bid farewell … until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ.' (Ether 12:37–38; see also D&C 135:5.)

"A few short verses from the 12th chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Before closing the book, Hyrum turned down the corner of the page from which he had read, marking it as part of the everlasting testimony for which these two brothers were about to die. I hold in my hand that book, the very copy from which Hyrum read, the same corner of the page turned down, still visible. Later, when actually incarcerated in the jail, Joseph the Prophet turned to the guards who held him captive and bore a powerful testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. (See History of the Church, 6:600.) Shortly thereafter pistol and ball would take the lives of these two testators.

"As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

"Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be 'houseless, friendless and homeless' and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. (Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 4:539.) Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as impostors and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon."

I highly recommend that you listen to these talks, so that you can clearly hear in his voice and see in his expression the intensity of his testimony, to the point that I believe it is difficult to deny that he is speaking truthfully and with conviction. Many years ago, my mother and my husband were arguing about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I got between them and told my husband that he had no idea about how my mother came to believe what she believes and, thus, was not in a position to tell her that her beliefs were wrong or inadequate. I then told my mother that I would not listen to her opinions and beliefs about the Book of Mormon, until she had read it through, prayerfully and with the intent of discovering whether or not it is true.

I first read the Book of Mormon, the summer after my father passed away, and I believed every word without any doubt. I was quite grounded in my beliefs and read it to see if I could find holes in it to disprove it. I could not. In fact, it boosted my faith and belief in Jesus Christ and his purpose. It also answered questions that I had, growing up in the Southern Baptist Church.

I have a strong testimony that the Book of Mormon is, indeed, true, and it is, as it claims to be, "another testament of Jesus Christ." I testify that, should you decide to read it for yourself, you will be greatly blessed, and the Spirit of God will fill your heart and soul with great joy. If you don't like to read from beginning to end, start with the book of Ether, or 3rd Nephi. Those were my favorite books, the first time I read it through.

Wishing you all a glorious Easter celebration!

Teah

My Dear Miss Pu Chi

My sweet Pu Chi passed away, Friday morning, 2/13/15, at 6:50 a.m. CST. She was my dear companion for nearly 18 years. Our time together ended much like it began, in a shotgun apartment (you can stand at one end and fire a shotgun shell through the entire apartment, without hitting any walls). We connected in August 1997, while I was living in North St. Louis City and working at a major law firm in downtown St. Louis. My son was 14, getting ready to start high school, living with his father. I had a roommate, but he wasn't extremely fond of animals. A legal secretary at the law firm was giving kittens away. Their mother had been put down, and she was desperate to find homes for the babies. Pu Chi was the last one, and the tiniest one. I think I could have held her comfortably in one hand. It was me and her, from the beginning. She would warm up to others, throughout her life, but, bottom line, she was mine, and I was hers.

By the end of August, I had moved into a house, in St. John, a suburb NW of St. Louis, My son moved in with me. For his birthday, my son's girlfriend gave him a puppy, whom he named Cloud. Pu Chi and Cloud were very close in age and grew up together. She enjoyed mothering him. Five years later, I got another kitten, Goku, which presented another opportunity for Pu Chi to show off her mothering talents. Then, Nate got another dog. Pu Chi didn't mother this one. She spent the time necessary to help the other pets in the house to understand that she was the Alpha female. All other animals in the house were to answer to her, and she answered only to me.

In August 2003, my mother and I moved into a house together, in Overland, a suburb west of St. Louis. Nate, who was nearly 21, stayed in the house in St. John. I took the two cats with me. At first, my mother insisted that the cats stay in my living quarters, upstairs. However, once she noticed that I was spending more time in my living quarters than in hers, she agreed to let the cats have the freedom to roam the entire house. I think it was 2008, when I purchased a big comfy recliner for the TV room. I had bought it for my mother, but she didn't care for it. It actually became Pu Chi's chair, with the understanding that she would only use it, when someone was reclining in it. Whoever was reclining in it became her pillow. There were times when she preferred to sit in mother's chair with her, but she always claimed the recliner as hers. When my mother moved to Kentucky to live with my brother, in 2010, I kept Pu Chi and the recliner, as I moved from place to place, before finally settling in a shotgun apartment in Peoria, Illinois.

She left this earth with me as her pillow, on her recliner. She had been in the habit of greeting me at the door, when I came home from work. A few months ago, she was diagnosed with kidney disease. Over the last week or two, I noticed she stopped eating and began to lose weight. I set up a bed for her in the bathroom, by the radiator, the warmest place in our home. When I got home from work, on Thursday, 2/12/15, she did not greet me. I found her in her bed, in the bathroom, unwilling to get up. After getting myself something to eat and getting ready for bed, I picked her up and brought her into the front room, so I could be her pillow on the recliner. She was still sleeping, when I woke up at 6:00 a.m. I put her in the recliner, while I got ready for work, and then resumed my position as her pillow, until she took her last breath, at 6:50 a.m. I was able to hold her, stroke her, and talk to her, until she was gone. I am so grateful I was able to share her last moments.

She was a devoted companion, always there for me, never judging me, and I know she truly loved me unconditionally. I will miss her very much.

Who Needs Love Most?

Starting the day before Halloween, I started hearing radio PSAs instructing parents to go to the Peoria County Sheriff's Office website to look up sex offenders in their area. The announcements also pointed out that sex offenders were banned from participating in Halloween. These announcements gave me a weird feeling. I know men who are required to register as a sex offender for the rest of their lives, for having sex with a miner (and it was the miner's idea).

I'm not condoning what sex offenders do, by any means. However, my first thought upon hearing these ads was that I should look up the sex offenders in my neighborhood and take them some candy. Perhaps that might be dangerous, but it also is looming out there as an overlooked opportunity to minister to some downtrodden folks.

Then, tonight, I was attending Stake Conference, and one of the speakers encouraged us to look for ways we can minister to those around us. I struggle to find people more deserving of kindness than those who are openly hated and rebuked. The website doesn't say what a man did to become a registered sex offender. It just lists his name, address, and description, along with a photo, if one is available.

So, what do you think? Are there crimes that are unforgivable? When a person is convicted of a crime, is there no room for repentance? I can imagine there are those who believe some folks deserve what they get. I also strongly believe that our lives are a result of the choices we make, i.e., the circumstances surrounding registered sex offenders, they brought on themselves, because of the choices they made. Most choices can't be reversed.

So, I'm going to look into what I can do to help registered sex offenders feel the Spirit and maybe even feel a little blessed and loved this upcoming holiday season. If nothing else, I intend to intently and specifically pray for them by name, asking for showers of blessings to come their way. Who will join me?